For the last three years, the Satanic Temple of Illinois has placed displays in the rotunda in opposition to the Nativity. In previous years, the group’s display was called "Snaketivity" and represented Eve's arm with her hand holding an apple and the snake wrapped around her arm. Upon the base of the sculpture appeared the phrase "Knowledge is the Greatest Gift." Their statement was a deliberate affront to Christians, as Christians know that the greatest gift is Jesus Christ and His redemption on the cross.
This year the Satanists put their display up on December 21st when many Pagans celebrate the winter solstice. The group used a statue on loan from the Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts. Entitled "Baby Baphomet," this statue of a male infant, human-goat hybrid is a grotesque representation and mocks the infant Christ in the manger. The group’s intent is to create a mockery of Christianity while presenting blasphemous images in the name of "equal access."
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MilE7n6-bfs
Illinois Family Institute is urging our readers to watch and share this remarkable interview between Pastor Doug Wilson and Pastor Derek Buikema on the science-denying, anti-Christian “trans”-ideology. Doug Wilson is the pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho; theologian; prolific author; and blogger extraordinaire. Derek Buikema is the lead pastor at Orland Park Christian Reformed Church in Orland Park, Illinois who has master’s degrees from Wheaton College, Westminster Seminary, and Calvin Seminary.
Their discussion includes the issues of Christian worldview, church discipline, the biblical view of a welcoming church, and the increasing persecution of the church in America.
Both pastors are theologically orthodox, wise, winsome, courageous, and whipsmart—a combination of characteristics increasingly rare among Christians—including Christian leaders.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTU78EpvrDo
Marijuana is an addictive drug with significant health consequences to its users and others. Many harmful short-term and long-term problems have been documented with its use:
The short term effects of marijuana use include: memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor skills, decrease in muscle strength, increased heart rate, and anxiety.
In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of emergency room mentions of marijuana use. From 1993-2000, the number of emergency room marijuana mentions more than tripled.
There are also many long-term health consequences of marijuana use. According to the National Institutes of Health, studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.
Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, including most of the harmful substances found in tobacco smoke. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times more tar into the lungs than a filtered tobacco cigarette.
Harvard University researchers report that the risk of a heart attack is five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana.
Smoking marijuana also weakens the immune system4 and raises the risk of lung infections. A Columbia University study found that a control group smoking a single marijuana cigarette every other day for a year had a white-blood-cell count that was 39 percent lower than normal, thus damaging the immune system and making the user far more susceptible to infection and sickness.6
Users can become dependent on marijuana to the point they must seek treatment to stop abusing it. In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse treatment primarily for marijuana abuse and dependence.
More teens are in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug or for alcohol. Adolescent admissions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew from 43 percent of all adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in 1999.
Marijuana is much stronger now than it was decades ago. According to data from the Potency Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of commercial-grade marijuana rose from an average of 3.71 percent in 1985 to an average of 5.57 percent in 1998. The average THC content of U.S. produced sinsemilla increased from 3.2 percent in 1977 to 12.8 percent in 1997.7
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9aot9ZLMZI
The annual 40 Days for Life prayer campaign to end abortion is underway as voters are casting ballots for pro-life and pro-abortion candidates in the midterm elections.
Do you believe your vote can make a difference? Do you truly value your right to cast your vote? Know your vote is valuable and your actions in the voting booth should be consistent with your pro-life, pro-family values!
Check out the IFI Voter Guide here: https://illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IFI-VG-General_2018-3.pdf
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sFE9B2DA1Y
ABC News Report on the rise of driving under the influence of drugs and the toll it is having on society.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClTVqyjdMvk
IFI was honored to have theologian, pastor, and courageous truth-teller Doug Wilson speak at our 2019 Worldview Conference on "Trans" Ideology. Pastor Derek Buikema of the Orland Park Christian Reformed Church sits down with Pastor Wilson to ask him about issues central to our Christian faith.
In this short video, Buikema asks Wilson about the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian worldview.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLygSj8vHKw